First Impressions
Glenfiddich's Grand Cask series treats the distillery's older stocks to finishes from the great cask traditions of Europe — Bordeaux for the Grand Cru, Sherry for the Gran Reserva, and for the Grande Couronne, French Cognac. Twenty-six years is a long time for a Speysider, and the choice of Cognac wood is no accident. The series is named for grandeur, and Cognac is the spirit of French ceremony.
Tasting
The nose offers stewed pear, French oak vanilla, candied orange and the dried apricot signature of long maturation. At 43.8% the palate is silky and unhurried — toffee, honey, dried fruit, restrained tannin and hints of cocoa and ginger. The finish runs long with French oak spice, dried fig and a quiet Cognac sweetness.
The Verdict
Grande Couronne earns a five. Cognac finishes can flatter or smother, but here the wood and the spirit are well-matched — the orchard fruit of Glenfiddich and the dried-fruit grace of Cognac speak the same language. At twenty-six years, the distillery is no longer chasing youth, and the Cognac casks lend the maturity a French accent. Expensive, deserved, and unmistakably regal.
